Spicy Chettinadu Cauliflower Masal Dosa.

They say the best cooking comes out of planning with little or no ingredients in the pantry with little time left…and this was just the case with me. I had a big bunch of cauliflower florettes and dosa batter and I was wondering If I should try and make a spicy masal for dosa. I had no potatoes so I knew I pretty much had no luck there! If there was any hope of making any filling with the cauliflower I had to mash it up. I also needed some form of a binding agent so I knew tomatoes…I remember having cauliflower masal with pieces of cashews dunked in them but decided to make it in to a paste. Armed with this basic knowledge and inspired feverishly by Anu I attempted this spicy Cauliflower Dosa and I was in heaven. The masal as it gets cooked smells so amazing that I couldn’t wait to taste it on the dosas! Tasted even more amazing the next day as a filling for sandwiches! Its an amazing side for rotis and parathas….Try it and then there is no looking back…I mean really…

INGREDIENTS:

1 Cup Finely chopped Onions.

2 Medium Vine Tomatoes chopped finely.

1-1 1/2 Cups Shredded Cauliflower.

8 Pods Garlic peeled and cut in half lengthwise.

2 Tsp Ginger.

2 Green Chillies slit lengthwise.

Curry Leaves.

1/4 Tsp Turmeric.

1/2 Tsp Red Chilli Powder.

1/2 Tsp Dhania Powder.

1/2 Tsp Vethal Kuzhambu Powder or Samar Powder.

1/2 Tsp Rasam Powder.

1 Tbsp Cashew ground to a paste.

Salt.

Seasoning:

Mustard, Curry Leaves, 1 Tsp Cumin Seeds, 3 Red Chillies.

PREPARATION:

In a flat bottomed pan, add 2 tsp of oil and when hot pop in mustard seeds and cumin. When they splutter away to glory add in the red chillies, curry leaves and the hing.

Now add the wonderful additions – Garlic, Ginger, Green Chillies and more curry leaves and saute well until the garlic turns a dull brown.

Keep your flame on medium low so that the garlic does not burn.

Toss the diced onions and wait until they turn translucent , following up with the tomatoes and the cashew paste.

Now add the shredded cauliflower to the kadai and mix well.

Spices form the base for the defined taste of this masala filling and we add all of them next – Turmeric, Red Chilli Powder, Sambar Powder, Rasam Powder and salt.

Stir in all the spice powders and allow to cook well until the contents turn mushy.

Pick out your favourite ladle or masher and mash the contents well until they fuse to form a homogenous mixture.

The onions, chillies, cauliflower and the tomatoes simply become one mushy goodness!

Add a spoon of ghee at this stage and allow it to complete the cooking. I found that adding the ghee at this point completely enhances the flavor to a different level!!!

Garnish with chopped cilantro and transfer to an air tight vessel.

ASSEMBLING THE MASAL DOSA:

Keep the dosa batter ready and turn on the tava and grease the tava pan.

With the help of a dosa ladle or a little cup. scoop out a portion of the batter and slowly spread the dosa to a thin layer. This is important as we do not turn it around and cook it on the other side.

Add oil or ghee and immediately spread out the cauliflower masala as a thin layer over the dosa.

Allow a couple minutes to cook and gently pry out the dosa. Fold it in half and serve on the platter with delicious Andhra Tomato Chutney.

There was not even one dosa left for me to click pics. As the masal is really the star of the show, I felt it reserved the spot as the opening picture. Shall update with a better picture as soon as I can.

shobhs…it tasted so so sooooooooooo good,honestly.
I added a LOT of the red chilly powder and that resulted in a *spicy* version.We loved it 😀
But more than anything I love the first pic in this post-god,its so so so drool worthy.Showed it to the husband and compared notes with mine-umm…it wasn’t exactly comparable 😛
But iss okay 😀
love,
nona